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Now I get it...

Hey everyone, long time listener first time caller.  I sold a bunch of used gear and recently updated my vinyl front end to a Feickert Woodpecker, a Soundsmith Paua, and a Pass Labs XP-25 (I feel blessed).  As a result, I discovered I own some truly awful pressings.  Seriously, never knew some of my records were so darn terrible.  The good ones, though?  Absolutely magical.  This was a pretty cool moment in my audiophile journey.  Now I finally get why some system reviews describe the components as “unforgiving to poor source material”.  Awesome.
Ag insider logo xs@2xjerrysbeard
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jerrysbeard OP
10 posts
 
LOL thanks @
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,769 posts
 
Good recording should sound amazing and poor recordings should sound enjoyable.
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jerrysbeard OP
10 posts
 
You’re right, and I still play (and enjoy) the “terrible” ones.  Just never understood how much better a truly good recording can sound.  The SQ gap between good and poor seems much larger now (to my ears).    
tablejockey
3,889 posts
 
Congratulations.
You now have the  gear. Avoid the darkside....REISSUES!

Discogs is your bible for original presses. 
lewm
13,019 posts
 
I have found that beyond the situation in which you now find yourself, there is a promised land where your system can find the "good" parts of a badly recorded LP. (Can't do much about bad musicianship.)  Nowadays there are very few LPs that spur me to call a halt, get out of my chair and change to some other LP, just based on sonic nasties.  But before now, I did go through that period where my system made the bad over-rule the good, but the good sounded great. I can't put my finger on what makes the difference, but it is not that I added a bit of euphonia to the mix.  The right combination of cartridge and tonearm makes a big difference, but it is very difficult to predict what exactly goes with what, except by trial and error, unfortunately.
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